Hollywood stars, children's favorite characters, giant helium balloons, marching bands and of course Santa. Assemble them into one parade, add colorful lights, and open the festive holiday season
with delight for all ages. It's the Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade, a two-hour spectacle through Downtown Palm Springs on the first Saturday in December.

Celebrating its 28th year in 2020, the Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade is consistently rated one of the best events in Southern California and one of the "top" holiday parades in the USA.
Marching bands are an important part of the parade and often match the spirit of the nighttime spectacle by performing holiday music and adorning their uniforms with lights.

The parade is a destination for marching bands and draws groups from beyond the local area. The 2017 parade included seven international bands in the lineup in conjunction with the
World Association of Marching Show Bands (WAMSB) Championships which was held in Palm Springs the same week.

The 1.25-mile parade route travels up Palm Canyon Drive from Ramon Road to Tamarisk Road. A crowd of 100,000 spectators lines the route each year.

The parade is televised live on NBC Palm Springs and Univision Palm Springs. Beginning in 2020, the parade will be offered to NBC affiliate stations across the country.

Related Events

Bands traveling to Palm Springs for the Festival of Lights Parade can take advantage of educational and entertaining opportunities including:

Palm Springs Tramway

Downtown Palm Springs

Palm Springs Walk of Stars

VillageFest

Living Desert Zoo

Natural wonders including Joshua Tree National Park, Salton Sea, Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley National Park

Major attractions including Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Legoland, Hollywood and San Diego Zoo

Greater Palm Springs is surrounded by four picturesque mountain ranges and is known for its blue skies, inspiring scenery and sense of adventure. Since the 1920s,
Palm Springs has been Hollywood's desert playground for celebrities. The legendary "Two-Hour Rule" of Hollywood studios put Palm Springs on the map
for actors who had to be available within two hours for last-minute film/photo shoots.

Future Dates

Saturday, December 5, 2020
Saturday, December 4, 2021
Saturday, December 3, 2022
(Always held the first Saturday of December)